by Sharon Coady
“So, what’s the game plan for our romance thing? Are we using our real names or what?” Bailee asked in between nibbling on a wing.
“Well, Mr. Hot over there already knows her name and ours. He had to check out our ID’s.” Sophie placed another rib bone on the extra plate. “These are so good.” She moaned. Sometimes food just tasted way too good. She counted the ribs. “I think I’m going to get a box for the rest and take it back to the cabin.”
“I’m with you. Time for another drink.” Chelsea put her hand up to flag down the waitress.
“I’ll hang out with Tarin.” Bailee motioned with her thumb. “Someone has to keep an eye on her tonight.” She rolled her eyes. “Seriously though, one of you gets to take the next shift.”
The waitress appeared with to-go boxes for all four of them. “No one finishes their meals when they get the ribs or wings. The owner is very generous with the portions.”
“He sure is. Thank you.” Sophie started putting her ribs into the box, wondering how she was going to finish them the next day. “Could you bring me another drink?”
“Me too.” Bailee chimed in.
“Sure. I’ll be back with them shortly.”
“Let’s dance while we’re waiting on our drinks.” Sophie slid out of the booth and glanced over at Liam, who was still singing. He tilted his head and smiled as she made her way to the dance floor. She started swaying to the music as the beat picked up a little. Closing her eyes, she let the music carry away her cares and burdens. This was just what she needed.
Chelsea bumped her hip. “Earth to Sophie. Are we having fun yet?” She giggled as she rolled her hips to the music.
“I am, but I’ll be having more fun when that waitress brings us our drinks. Thanks for talking me into this Chelsea. I haven’t let loose in a long time.” She glanced over her shoulder and saw Liam watching her.
“He’s checking you out again. Are you going to try to talk to him?” Chelsea took Sophie’s hand. “He hasn’t stopped watching you.”
“I think he’s hot as hell. I want to talk to him, I just don’t know if I can.” She pulled her hand from Chelsea’s and headed back to the table to take a sip of the drink the waitress had placed by her seat while they were dancing. More liquid courage, yep, just what I need.
Chapter Two
Liam
Liam watched her and her friends when they walked into the club and knew as soon as he saw them that they weren’t from around here. The band was just getting ready to do their last song before taking a quick break. She sat facing the stage, and his heart ramped up a few beats. The woman was beautiful, with dark hair and a sexy, curvy figure. He hoped she’d look his way so he could see her eyes and let her know he was interested. Ever since he’d called it quits with Leah two years ago, his only interest in women had been one-night stands. The woman had damn near gutted him. Seeing this curvy beauty had him thinking a little summer fling might be in order. Shit, the guys had been on him about it for the last damn year.
Daniel started his slow guitar riff for the last song of the set. Liam stepped up to the mic while Stan joined in with the piano. He stared at her face as he started to sing the slow, soulful song. Finally, her eyes met his, and he felt a smile spread over his face. Even in the dim light of the club, he could see how shy she was as she tried to pull her eyes from his, looking down at her table instead. The girl on her left leaned in and said something to her just before her eyes caught his again. He sang to her with everything he had, trying to make her believe he was singing just to her. Her eyes never left his as he finished the song and part of him hoped she would stay until after the last set so he could introduce himself. As they walked off the stage, he glanced her way once again, pleased to see her eyes were following him.
Back stage, Daniel slapped him on the back. “The hot brunette that walked in before the last song was checking you out.” He sat down and started tuning his guitar. “Talk to her, Liam.”
“Maybe.” He grabbed a bottle of cold water from the mini fridge, unscrewed the top, and downed half of it. “She was pretty damn hot, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah.” Stan threw his feet up on the coffee table. “All four of them are smoking hot. The one headed back to the front door, so I think Brice is going to get lucky. I wonder how long they’re going to be in town.”
“I hope longer than just the weekend,” he muttered, feeling the heat explode across his face when he realized they must have heard him because the room suddenly went dead quiet. He tensed up, waiting for the hard time he was sure they’d give him and relaxed when he heard Daniel go back to tuning his strings.
Stan chuckled. “Bout damn time, Liam.”
Liam didn’t want to get into it with them again. It was the same old crap any time a woman looked at him. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate his friends being concerned, he did. But when you’re done as dirty as he was, it was rather hard to jump right back in. He’d vowed no woman was ever going to get him to let his guard down again. He’d portrayed the bad boy persona since. Taking a deep breath, Liam turned. “It is about time. She might be just what the doctor ordered.”
They looked at each other with knowing smiles, but didn’t say anything else. Liam suspected Daniel had something to do with that.
As soon as their break was over, he made his way back to the stage. Making no effort to hide the fact that he searched her out, he sauntered to the front of the stage. She sat forward and smiled when he caught her eyes. He snagged the mic off the stand to introduce himself and the other members of the band. He could imagine the blush that covered her beautiful face as he started the next slow song. He made sure to direct every word of it to her. Just to her, as if no one else was in the room.
All too soon, the waitress showed up at the table to deliver their food and the spell was broken. It pissed him off more than he would have ever dreamed. He wanted her eyes on him. He wanted her laughter directed to something he said, not to her friends. He tried with each new song to get her attention back, but she would only quickly glance his way before someone at the table demanded her attention again. Way too soon, he saw the waitress bring boxes for their food and was worried they were going to leave. Then she stood and made her way to the dance floor with the blonde.
Liam watched as she swayed and moved to the music. He loved the way her body moved. Her dress playing peak-a-boo with her legs as she let the music carry her away. He noticed the smile slip from her face when the blonde whispered something into her ear, and she quickly made her way back to their table and started drinking again. For some reason, this bothered him. He wondered if she was a drinker or if this was a night for her to let loose. He decided he was going to keep an eye on her and make sure some jerk didn’t hit on her while she was slowly getting drunk. Well, other than me anyway.
The blonde joined her and threw back some of her drink. Good lord. Now he’d be watching two of them. Where were her friends? Looking around, he saw the other two at the door with Brice. They weren’t paying any attention to the women at the table. He caught Daniel’s attention and motioned for him to move into one of their songs that was a great dance number, hoping it would get her away from the table and drink. It worked for the moment, but when the song ended, she went back to the table and gulped down another drink.
He tried to keep track of them as the club started filling up with people. Sure enough, the next thing he knew, a couple of guys were dancing with them and buying them more drinks. He shook his head. Not my problem, right? Nope, he was making it his problem. He couldn’t let her end up with some guy taking advantage of her. After all, she was going to be his for the time she was here.
Forty minutes later, the band finished up the last set for the night. Liam climbed off stage and made his way through the normal crowd of fans, the ones who were there every weekend throwing themselves at the band members. He could have had a different woman pretty much every night if he wanted. But he kept his one-night stands out of the club. He didn’
t need the shit interfering with his gig. That’s why he kept himself cold and distant, putting it right up front that he wasn’t interested in getting to know any of them. When he found someone to pick up, he made sure she damn well knew it would never be anything but sex. He hurried back to the dressing room to grab his things before going back out into the club to find the woman and her blonde friend. No way was he going to let them fall prey to some jerk that would take advantage of them.
Daniel walked in behind him. “So, I saw you checking out the hot girl in the pink dress.” He flopped down on the sofa and picked up his towel. “You going to talk to her?”
“Just trying to work up the nerve and make sure this is something that I really want to do.”
“Liam, it’s been two freaking years. Not all women are like Leah. You know that, right?” Daniel finished wiping down his guitar and placed it carefully in the worn leather case. “We all saw it coming with her. Hell, Stan even tried to warn you.”
“Yeah, I know. I was so wrapped up in her, I couldn’t see the shit she was doing.” Liam looked him straight in the eyes. “Kind of why it’s hard to want to go there again.” The thought of getting his heart shredded wasn’t something he wanted to consider just yet.
“That’s why we keep telling you to have a summer fling. No long-term commitment. Someone you’ll never see again. Someone you can get to know a little and hang out with.” Daniel shrugged. “I’m going to see about getting the number of the other girl at the table.” He sauntered out of the room, stopping for a moment to glance over his shoulder. “They’re hot, Liam and if they’re looking for something, there will be plenty of guys here to help them find it.”
Running his hand through his hair, he glanced in the mirror knowing Daniel was right. Shit, players hung out here every night looking for a lonely woman to pick up. Taking a deep breath, he followed Daniel’s path. Brice was still talking to the one young woman, and he couldn’t help but feel relieved that she was still with him. Daniel was at the table sitting with the other woman, and from the looks of it, they were getting along just fine.
“Hey Brice.” Liam shook his hand and smiled at the girl. “Hey, I’m Liam.” He held his hand out to her.
She smiled sweetly. “I’m Tarin.” She slid her hand around Brice’s arm and stepped just a little closer to him. Yep, she was definitely claiming her man and letting him know where her interest lay.
“So Tarin, how long are you guys in town?”
She raised a perfectly manicured brow.
“I’m asking because I’m hoping to meet one of the girls you were with tonight.” He cocked his head.
“Oh. You’re the lead singer from the band.” She leaned closer to Brice before asking, “Which one?”
“The curvy one with the dark hair. She has on a pink sundress.”
A smile spread slowly over her face and she tilted her head. “Sophie?” she asked, the smile growing wider. “Well, we’re going to the beach tomorrow afternoon, if you’d like to join us.” Turning to Brice, she purred, “You’ll come, won’t you?”
“Sure. I’ll bring Liam and the other guys with me. How about I walk you home, when you’re ready to leave?”
Liam gave him the thumbs up.
“That would be nice.” She glanced at Liam. “So you’ll come tomorrow?”
“Sure. Thanks for inviting me.” Unfortunately, Liam was already trying to think of ways to back out. Damn it. I can’t back out. Not with Brice knowing. He was enough of a prick, he’d make sure everyone knew what a pussy Liam was. No backing out now. “Nice meeting you, Tarin. I’ll get with you tomorrow, Brice.” Liam turned and walked away, his heart pounding in his chest while he searched the club for her.
When he finally spotted Sophie, she was wobbling on the dance floor. One of the local players was holding her up. He squared his shoulders and approached them. “I’ve got her. Thanks for keeping her company until I finished the set.” Liam removed the man’s hands from her back and tucked her against his side. “I see you had a little too much to drink again, baby. We’ll talk about it when we get home.”
The guy shot daggers at him with his eyes before he turned to her. “Are you with him?”
Sophie leaned against Liam and mumbled as she snuggled closer.
The player must have bought it because he stormed off. Liam saw the blonde sitting back at the table with Daniel and the other woman. Yeah, she’d be okay. Daniel would make sure of it. “Come on, little lady. Let’s take a walk on the pier, and then I’ll make sure you get home.” The sound of the ocean usually calmed him, and he sure needed it at the moment. He was amped from the night, the fear of what he was doing, and the fear of what could have happened to her if he’d left her alone. Liam led her outside to the pier, and she used him to hold herself up. He inhaled the scent roses and almonds in her hair, her curvy body fitting perfectly against his. He couldn’t believe how incredibly attracted he already was to her. Take it slow. You don’t need another Leah incident on your hands.
As they strolled along, the memory of that night he’d walked in early, hoping to surprise Leah, suddenly reared its ugly head. He could still feel the pain of finding her in bed, getting it on with one of the waiters from the club where their band had been playing. As if that hadn’t been bad enough, the bitch had looked right at him and smirked. Yeah, she had fucking smirked. She knew she was ripping his heart out and didn’t even give a shit. Hell, she looked damn pleased with herself. He remembered how he’d frozen in place for a couple of heartbeats, not knowing what to do. Then she laughed and the guy stopped screwing her long enough to glance over his shoulder.
At least the guy had the decency to be embarrassed being caught with his bare ass in the air. He’d jumped off her with his hands in front of him as his face turned beet red. Liam could still hear the words that had flown out of his mouth. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Shit, she’s been coming on to me for months. I swear this is the first time.” He was trying to get his pants pulled on, all the time watching Liam with wide eyes.
When Liam had glanced back to the bed, Leah was sprawled out with a big smile on her lips. “Care to join me since Howard isn’t going to finish this?”
He had never felt that much disgust or disdain for any human before as he had at that moment. “Fuck. You. Leah. I want you out of here in ten minutes. Anything you can’t gather in that time, I’ll have sent to you.” He’d glanced over his shoulder at Howard. “You get the fuck out of my house. Don’t show up at the club tomorrow, or I will make sure everyone knows what you like to do to the other employees.” He watched as Howard grabbed the rest of his clothes off the floor and flew out the front door.
“Tick tock, Leah. You’d better be gone when I get out of the shower.” He’d walked into the bathroom on shaky legs and locked the door before leaning against it. He slid to the floor, his entire body shaking with disbelief and rage as his heart broke.
Liam pulled himself out of the nightmare, hating how the memories of that night had controlled him for the last two years. He steadied Sophie when she started to stumble. “Where are you staying?” He stopped their forward momentum, tucked her hair behind her ear, and leaned down to look at her more closely. Good lord, she was even more beautiful close up.
“Yellow place. Chelsea found it,” she slurred as she smiled at him. “You are so hot and your voice. Wow.” She giggled as her hand covered her mouth and her eyes went wide. “Did I just say that out loud?”
“Yeah, you did.” He felt the corners of his mouth turn up. “Well, I don’t know where the yellow place is. Do you think you can find it?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure.” Her eyes lit up. “Chelsea knows. Can we go back and get her?” She started to stumble again so he pulled her against his body.
“I can call my friend. He was sitting at your table with her and the other woman.” Liam pulled his phone out of his back pocket, found Daniel’s number, and tapped the call icon. Relief flooded
over him when Daniel answered. “Hey, I have Sophie with me on the pier. I want to get her home. Can you ask Chelsea where it is?” He waited until Daniel came back on and gave him the address and directions. “Thanks. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. You going to make sure the blonde gets home safe too?” He nodded even though Daniel couldn’t see him. “Good. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Come on, little lady. Let’s get you home.” He took his time walking her the short distance to the cottage, hoping to sober her up a little more before he left. When they got to the place, he leaned her against his chest as she fumbled through her purse for the key. “I’ll get that for you.” He took the keys from her fingers and unlocked the door. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
She looked up at him with a big grin as a blush spread over her face. “Kay,” she slurred as her eyes started to close, and she leaned toward him.
“Whoa. Come on, we have to get you to your room. Which one is yours?” He steered her toward the hallway.
“The one with two beds.” She hiccupped and stumbled again. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He helped her shuffle through the door into the room. “Which bed?”
“That one.” She pointed. “It’s not very big. Do you think we’ll fit?” A little pout formed on her lips as she started to slide the straps of her dress off her shoulders.
“Um, you’ll fit just fine. Where are your pajamas?” Liam quickly glanced around and was relieved to see a nightgown neatly folded on the pillow. Picking it up, he slid it over her head just as her dress slid to the floor. He couldn’t help peeking at her soft curves. Who in their right mind wouldn’t? Man, if she were sober, I would stay. For a while anyway. But not like this. He pulled the covers down and helped her into the bed, making sure to cover her up.
Sophie closed her eyes. “You’re not staying?” she mumbled.
“No. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead before he rolled her onto her left side, propping a pillow behind her back. She was already asleep, a little snore alerting him to the fact. Leaving her room, he turned on the hall light and found a pad of paper and a pen by the fridge. He jotted down his cell number and name, went back into her room, and placed the keys on top of the paper before he walked out, locking the door behind him.
